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5 Tips to Make Moving With a Toddler a Little Easier

by Christine Fadel on December 04, 2013

Christine Fadel

About the Author

About the Blog

WhatToExpect.com supports Word of Mom as a place to share stories and highlight the many perspectives and experiences of pregnancy and parenting. However, the opinions expressed in this section are those of individual writers and do not reflect the views of Heidi Murkoff of the What to Expect brand.

Last year, my husband and I moved from North Carolina to midtown Manhattan with our seven-month-old daughter, Marlo, in tow. About one month ago, we moved from midtown Manhattan across the bridge to Brooklyn. One would think that moving one mile across a river would appear easy compared to moving 700 odd miles. I even remember saying to my husband, "Oh.... This will be nothing compared to last year's move. I got this!"

The joke was entirely on me.

I didn't take into account the fact that this move included a very busy, extremely curious toddler who is constantly into everything. Last year when we moved, Marlo was still napping twice a day and sleeping 13 hours at night. She was also content to lounge in her Bumbo or highchair while I unpacked boxes. She wasn't crawling or even standing, which allowed me a bit more freedom to get things done more quickly.

That was nowhere near the case this year. Marlo not only walks but she climbs. She's no longer content just sitting. She has to be in the middle of absolutely everything I'm doing.

So, in order to help your moving experience with a toddler be a little more tolerable and less of a pain, here are my five tips for making the transition a little easier, all of which, I learned the hard way:

1. Set realistic expectations for yourself. Don't think that you're going to unpack everything in a day or two. It's just not possible. Your main priority is still taking care of your baby. The box of towels may just have to wait.

2. Prioritize. I unpacked Marlo's room first because she is the person in the family who craves the most consistency and stability. Although being surrounded by unopened boxes may make me incredibly anxious, my main priority was to make the transition as easy as possible for her. My closet or the kitchen could be unpacked after bedtime.

3. Assume that there will be some transitional setbacks. For example, Marlo's sleep schedule was a disaster the first week. She was extremely curious of her new surroundings and wanted to explore her new home. Who could blame her for that? All I can do is try to keep things as normal as possible. Eventually, we got back on track, but the process wasn't the easiest. Knowing that ahead of time would've been half of the battle.

4. Know without a doubt that it's going to take twice as long to unpack because you have a pair of tiny hands wanting to "help." Let your kid help you. Yes, even though their idea of helping is to put everything back into the box that you just took out. Let them help. If anything, it gives them something to do.

5. Cut yourself some slack. Our day-to-day lives didn't stop just because we moved. If anything, they sped up. My husband still had to travel for work, Marlo cut her last four teeth in as many days (torture), we both came down with awful colds, and I still had deadlines for work (some of which I completely missed). You can't do it all and that's absolutely okay. This would be the time to call in those favors from your friends who kindly offer to help. Let them help you.

And most importantly, remember that it's all going to get done, maybe not as quickly as you'd like, but it WILL all get done. Hopefully these five tips will help you know a bit about what to expect so your experience can be easier for everyone!